Alex Shrugged

Friday, June 2, 2017

As always, Alex Shrugged's opinions are his own. Other people's work are their own. I include them here for the sake of completeness and to provide a second method of access to the material for the TSP history segment.

* Getting the Lead Out of Flint Michigan's Water Supply -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged

* This IS the outsider you were looking for! *Jedi hand wave* -- Contributed by Southpaw Ben

* Alex Shrugged Has Left the Building! -- Contributed by Alex Shrugged

* Notable Births -- See below.

* This Year in Film -- See below.

* This Year in Music -- See below.

* In Other News -- See below.

=============================

Getting the Lead Out of Flint Michigan's Water Supply

Contributed by Alex Shrugged
President Obama declares a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan.
Lead levels in the water supply have already poisoned many children who
will never be well again. How did it happened? Flint was close to
bankruptcy, so the Governor assigned a manager over the city. One of the
cost-saving measures he dictated was to use Flint's old water treatment
plant to process river water rather than buy treated water from
Detroit. It was a good idea, but treating river water is tricky. They
made a mistake and failed to add an anti-corrosive chemical to the
water. Then, when they discovered too much bacteria in the water, they
added extra chlorine. This rusted out the city's iron pipes. It turned
the water orange but it also flaked off the protective coating inside
the old lead pipes. Lead dissolved into the water. So... did the city
fix the problem once it was brought to their attention? No. They denied
there was a problem. How about when the regional EPA director was
informed of the problem? No. State of Michigan? Forget it. No one wanted
to "go out on a limb" for Flint. (Someone actually wrote that in a
memo.) After 18 months of protests, scientific studies, and medical
studies the state of Michigan finally switch Flint back to Detroit
water, but the damaged pipes must be replaced. Obama's declaration opens
up funding for that. [1][2][3][4]

My Take by Alex ShruggedBut Alex! Surely this is an isolated case! No, it isn't. Washington D.C., 2001,
there were indications that lead levels in the drinking water were
rising, and the reaction by government was the same. I'm not blaming
Republicans or Democrats. I'm blaming the frickin' bureaucrats and
government-paid scientists who tried to cover their backsides. Anyone
who disagreed was moved out, discredited or threatened with a loss of
funding. Even the CDC said that lead really wasn't hurting the children.
Assuming that there is a politician out there who wants to make the
right decision, what can he do when scientists won't stick their neck
out and give him an honest answer? I recommend watching the Nova episode
"Poisoned Water" that aired May 31, 2017. It will re-air on PBS for the
rest of the week. And perhaps there is someone out there who sells a water filter that will take the lead out, even if your government assures you everything is OK. Hmmm... Let me think. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

This IS the outsider you were looking for! *Jedi hand wave*

Contributed by Southpaw Ben
This year, in an election filled with intruige and more
mudslinging than ever before, Donald Trump becomes president-elect of
the US, to the fanfare of many and the horror of just as many. He
crashes right through the blue wall to victory, winning 4 states that
previously had always voted democrat.

My Take by Southpaw Ben Saturday Night Live does an amazing satirization of election night[14],
showing a stereotypical city apartment of Hillary supporters,
absolutely positive that Hillary won the election already, then follows
them through the night. As the title suggests, I don't think that Trump
is the outsider his supporters say he is, nor is he evil incarnate as
his opponents claim.

Alex Shrugged Has Left the Building!

Contributed by Alex Shrugged
Wow. It has really been a great run.
It began when Jack Spirko had the idea of linking the episode
number for his show with a few thoughts about history for that year...
the year that was the episode. As a history buff, I loved the idea, but I
knew it would be a lot of work, so I started sending emails about
history to help him out. Then it became more formal. I started posting
to the TSP Wiki and became a part of the show, and I have Jack to thank
for it. I can do a lot of things on my own without prompting, but I
would not have done this history segment on my own. That's the truth. He
has lent me his forum so that I can speak to all of you using his
voice, and I am grateful.
I am also grateful to Southpaw Ben who stepped in just at the right time when I was sick and getting overwhelmed.
There is so much to learn from history, but the mistake is to
believe that we can go back to those times if only this changed or that.
There is no going back. There is only going forward. However, there are
times when an opportunity presents itself again. If we know our
history, we have a good idea what will happen next, or as the old joke
goes...
Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it... and those who DO study history are doomed to watch OTHERS repeat it.
I've taken the watch long enough.
Thank you for your trust.
Alex Shrugged

My Take by Southpaw BenThank
you for everything you've done for this community Alex. Your segment
always been one of my favorite parts of the show, and I hope to do
justice to your legacy as I go back to year 1 AD and hopefully fill in
the this segment up to when you started the segment.

Greta Van Susteren leaves Fox News: She has been unhappy with Fox News for a number of years. [17]

Al Jazeera America shuts down, citing low ratings: It began with 7,000 viewers in primetime, building to over 17,000. [17]

This Year in Music

Work: Rihanna featuring Drake. (There is an explicit music video and a less explicit one, but they both look fairly explicit.--alexshrugged) [20]

Closer: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey. "We
ain't never gettin' older". (The music video consists of simulated sex
in public. I'm sensing a trend here. No wonder women are complaining
more about sexual harassment if this is the example.--alexshrugged) [20]

H.O.L.Y.:
Florida Georgia Line. "You're holy, holy, holy / I'm high on loving
you." (A love song that draws on elements of a traditional prayer
service without being religious.--alexshrugged) [20]

Die A Happy Man: Thomas Rhett. "Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand / Baby, I could die a happy man". [20]

This Year in Video Games

Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets are launched:
This was a Kickstarter project with a goal of $240,000 and raised $2.4
million. (Apparently they solved many of the problems inherent with such
VR sets, but ultimately the eyes try to focus on distance and even a
slight latency causes vertigo because vision is linked to what the
balance sensors in your ears are detecting.--alexshrugged) [21]

Overwatch: 9.7 million gamers downloaded the beta version. By mid-year it is the best selling game with $10 million players. [21]

Pokémon Go: A mobile free-to-play game where you
use your mobile phone and GPS to locate Pokemon characters in the real
world. (This becomes a bit of a problem when folks start pointing their
cameras in public and screaming, "There it is!"--alexshrugged) [21]

Video games sales in the US are flat at around $30 billion: 75% of revenues are from digital downloads. [21]

It looks complicated but the police got a call that Sterling had
threatened someone with a gun. They tried to pat him down, but he ran.
The police got him on the ground next to a car, but could not gain
control of his arm. One of the officers said, "He has a gun" and after a
few more moments they shoot him in the chest 6 times at short range.
They pull a gun out of his pocket. [26][2]

(I saw a lot of the video, but not the shooting itself. The gun was
deep in his pocket but his pants were thin. He could have shot the gun
from outside the pocket.--alexshrugged)[27]